Dominic Bradley (left), from Spring Housing, and Gregg Reed, from New Leaf Housing, outside the former Adam and Eve pub in Digbeth

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A Birmingham pub closed after a string of violent attacks is to become apartments for vulnerable people - and recovering alcoholics.

The 15 studio flats being fitted out at the former Adam and Eve pub, in Digbeth, will be offered to those at risk of homelessness, while a restaurant or café in the bar area will offer training and work experience.

The renowned music pub, in Bradford Street, was closed after a triple stabbing last October and sold at auction for £355,000 earlier this year.

Although much of the bar is currently still intact, new owners New Leaf Living and social enterprise Spring Housing have started work converting the warren of rooms and bedrooms above into studio apartments complete with en suites and kitchens.

The conversion is expected to be completed by November ready for the first tenants to move in.

Even now, with conversion work well under way, the bar remains much as it was when it closed – with the pumps still in place, bar stools lined up against a wall, the stage decorated with a leopard print backdrop and even a list of beers advertised on a blackboard.

A Spitfire picture painted on the wall of the smaller bar will probably be kept and highlighted with a frame. Work on the café will begin after a business partner is found.

There has been a pub on the site for more than 200 years and the current building suffered severe bomb damage during the Second World War.

Spring Housing specialises in providing homes for the vulnerable – frequently at discount prices, helping people set up with 'at cost' loans for furniture and fittings and providing paid work opportunities.

It sees this as a temporary stop for someone falling on hard times, perhaps after a relationship break-up or job loss, as they rebuild their life.

Gregg Reed, of New Leaf, said: "It is important to us this is not just a doss house where people get stuck with high rent and can't move on."

New Leaf owns the building and is carrying out the refit. Spring Housing, which launched last October, will find the tenants and manage the property.

"We often support people with rent relief while they get on their feet," said Spring managing director Dominic Bradley. "We can also cover the set up cost of furniture, which can be a huge barrier when setting up a home. They pay us back when they can."

The social enterprise, which is landlord to more than 100 people in the city, has found that many are in low paid work rather than unemployed but still struggle to pay the bills.

Mr Bradley said the café business would offer genuine catering training to replace the unreliable zero-hour contracts and poorly paid shop work many find themselves in.

"We want to be able to offer a career and skills they use to find better work, not just a job," he said.

The firm also prides itself as not being reliant on government or council grants because in this age of austerity cuts these have proved unreliable and blown huge holes in the finances of similar organisations when withdrawn.